- 915 E. 27th St. [HAR]
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Amid the hodgepodge of roadside restaurants and retailers shown fronting the I-10 westbound feeder in the leasing map for the Village Plaza at Bunker Hill shopping center, a newcomer has cropped up: Chuy’s Tex-Mex. Its mark is shown on the 5,800-sq.-ft. portion of the building at the west side of the complex that previously housed Boudreaux’s Cajun Kitchen.
Whether the new Chuy’s is planned as a replacement or companion for the chain’s existing standalone restaurant 3 miles away on Westheimer near Gessner is anyone’s guess seeing as that location’s still doling out burritos the like. Unlike the existing spot however, the new location will have a bit of competition to contend with: Freebirds World Burrito is at the opposite end of the building it plans to move into. In the space between, Bora Bora Nails, the Sacred Heart emergency medical clinic, Clear Direct Orthodontics, Memorial Tailors, Great Clips hair salon, and skin care clinic Skin 101 fill out the rest of what’s leaseable.
Photo: Jon B. Map: Fidelis Realty
Off the Katy
Months after the chain that once operated them declared bankruptcy and retreated to Canada, the pair of empty Toys R Us stores situated almost directly opposite each other off the Katy Fwy. at Bunker Hill Rd. are getting ready to go their separate ways. Off the highway’s westbound side, the more recently vacated toy store pictured above at 9730 Katy Fwy. will give way to a new 40,000-sq.-ft. Burlington clothing store, but not entirely; its former Babies R Us portion remains unleased, as indicated by blank blue rectangle in the site plan at top of the Village Plaza at Bunker Hills shopping center.
The shopping center was brand-new when Toys R Us opened there in 2010 as a replacement for the chain’s older, standalone location at 9655 Katy Fwy., on the other side of the highway about half a mile east of Memorial City Mall. Developer Moody National bought the older Toys R Us in 2016, by which time it had been empty for just about a decade (although the building’s distinct rainbow trim is still intact). Along with an adjacent single-story retail strip and the 164-unit La Renaissance apartment complex at 970 Bunker Hill, directly west of the toy store, the developer now controls nearly 10-acres near where the I-10 feeder meets Bunker Hill Rd. (According to county records, however, the BBVA Compass bank on the corner isn’t included in that tract.)
Its plan is to swap out the apartments, strip building, and Toys R Us and put a pair of 6-story office buildings with ground-floor retail on the site:
Toy Story
Today on Swamplot our sponsor is The Classic, located at 5922 Washington Ave — at the edge of Rice Military. Thanks for supporting this site!
An unabashedly American restaurant, The Classic has something for everyone. This fresh American bistro is perched just east of Memorial Park. It’s brought to you by Benjy Levit — the restaurateur behind Local Foods and Benjy’s.
The Classic is a no-rush, no-fuss neighborhood spot. It pivots neatly from brunch to date-night cachet. Enjoy The Classic’s wide-ranging all-day menu — featuring subtle flavors and techniques that have traveled here across oceans and generations. In the light-filled interior you’ll find a touch of retro.
Check out The Classic’s menu and hours, reviews, pics of its interior and dishes, or make reservations on the restaurant website.
Support your local Swamplot! Become a Sponsor of the Day.
Sponsor of the Day
- First of 6 Corky’s BBQ Houston-Area Locations Now Open in Katy [Culturemap]
- Lax Regulations on Cheaper — but Flammable — Wood Construction is Partly Why New Apartment Midrises Look the Same Everywhere [Bloomberg Businessweek]
- Renderings of Houston Trust’s New Greenway Plaza Digs at 3737 Buffalo Speedway [HBJ ($)]
- Flood Pool Homeowners’ Lawsuit Over Harvey Flooding Could Shape Legal Precedent [Houston Public Media]
- New Energy Corridor Sichuan Restaurant Wula Buhuan Now Open in Former Great W’kana Cafe Spot [Eater]
- City Gives EaDo’s Truck Yard a Green Light To Bring Food Trucks Back This Weekend [Eater; previously on Swamplot]
- William Fulton: Lack of Government Restrictions on Investments Could Cause Gentrification on Steroids in Opportunity Zones [The Urban Edge]
Photo of Fulton St. at Boundary St.: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Prepping for poodles on the corner of Fairview and Converse:
- 4807 Big Falls Dr. [HAR]
STUDY OF GIANT UNDERGROUND DRAINAGE TUNNELS TO BEGIN ONCE COUNTY CASHES FEDERAL CHECK 
Remember that massive network of underground tunnels that the county’s flood control experts said they were looking into last year as a way to drain floodwaters from at least 7 different bayous before discharging it into the Ship Channel? This week, the Harris County Flood Control District received a $320,000 federal grant that — along with $80,000 of local funds — will pay for a 4-month study to determine whether the tunnels are worth building. Of particular interest: whether Harris County’s soft soils and high groundwater table could realistically house the deep-underground cylinders, which would measure 20 ft. or more in diameter, according to the county. “If the use of tunnels is found to be feasible, future efforts could examine potential tunnel routes, complete hydraulic analyses to determine the required tunnel diameters, and determine proposed inlet and outlet shaft locations.” The 2018 flood bond program that county voters approved last August includes $20 million to pay for that work, as well as other early-stage engineering efforts for the tunnel network. [Harris County Flood Control District; previously on Swamplot] Photo of Harvey flooding near UHD: Kelsie H. Dos Santos
- D’Agostino Cos. Planning 39K SF Medical Building with Ambulatory Surgery and Imaging Services in Sugar Land’s Telfair [Bisnow]
- Avenue CDC Putting Proposed W. 34th St. Housing Project on Hold [Houston Chronicle]
- Slowpokes, Kenny & Ziggy’s Commissary Headed for Spring Branch Shopping Center at 8141 Long Point Rd. for Braun Enterprises Redevelopment Project [HBJ]
- New Owner of Washington Corridor’s Star Fish Rebranding as 1751 Sea and Bar After Renovations [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
- New Bipartisan Bills Introduced To Allow Craft Breweries To Sell Beer To Go in Texas [HBJ ($)]
- Park Place Baptist Church’s Midcentury Digs at 4104 Broadway May Be Headed for Demo [Houston Chronicle; petition; previously on Swamplot]
Photo of Dean’s at 316 Main St.: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Clearing out a corner lot in Rice Military, and the original Frenchy’s Chicken building is facing sacrificial slaughter:
- 18460 Hills Lake Ct. [HAR]
Now posted on the property once home to the Memorial Club Apartments: signs boasting this rendering of what developer Greystar wants to put in their place between Westcott and Arnot streets. The planned new building looks to be about 11 stories including the 3-level parking podium depicted at its bottom. That puts it up a notch from its 6-story counterpart across Westcott St., Elan Memorial Park, which Greystar completed in 2016 in place of what used to be the Memorial Club complex’s other half. Now that the last of Memorial Club has crumbled under pressure from demo crews — shown above wrapping up their work — there’s nothing standing in the way of the new building’s arrival at the southeast section of the Westcott St. roundabout.
The full sign sets a 20-month timeline for it to crop up:
Rice Military
Our thanks go to today’s Sponsor of the Day: The Classic — located at 5922 Washington Ave, at the edge of Rice Military. Swamplot appreciates the support!
An unabashedly American restaurant, The Classic has something for everyone. This fresh American bistro is perched just east of Memorial Park. And it’s brought to you by Benjy Levit — the restaurateur behind Local Foods and Benjy’s.
The Classic is a no-rush, no-fuss neighborhood spot that pivots neatly from brunch to date-night cachet. Enjoy The Classic’s wide-ranging all-day menu — featuring subtle flavors and techniques that have traveled here across oceans and generations. In the light-filled interior you’ll find a touch of retro.
Check out The Classic’s menu and hours, reviews, pics of its interior and dishes, or make reservations on the restaurant website.
Help Swamplot readers discover you. Become a Sponsor of the Day.
Sponsor of the Day
Work is underway to turn the 2-story brick house Kaye Marvins Photography occupied for 70 years into a new location of Memorial Tailors, currently a 2-spot chain with shops in Cypress and the Village Plaza at Bunker Hill shopping center. The photo at top shows all the doors and windows torn out of the 1920s-era former photo building as part of the renovations that the builder Ecological Living is overseeing. Also vanished: the long green awning that once extended out from the front door to the curb on the east side of Montrose Blvd.
Here it is from across the street:
Roseland Estates
- State Rep Calanni Introduces Bill To Accelerate Tax Credit Applications for Housing Projects in Houston’s Extraterritorial Jurisdiction [Houston Chronicle]
- Local Artists Design Houston-Centric Monuments for Buffalo Bayou Park’s New Art Installation along Allen Parkway [Culturemap]
- Owners of Turkey Leg Hut at 4830 Almeda Rd. Opening Daiquiri Hut Next Door in Former Scrappy Brown’s Spot [Eater]
- Photos: John Staub’s 1948 Reinterpretation of a Prairie-Style House in River Oaks Hits the Market after Expansion Added [Houston Chronicle]
- Mayor Turner Announces 100% of Potholes Reported to 311 Last Year were Repaired by the Next Day [Houston Public Media]
- Rice Architecture Students Teamed Up with Nonprofit Agape Development To Build Tiny Homes in Third Ward [Houston Chronicle]
Photo of Chevron building at 1400 Smith St.: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool
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